Truck.



No. 859.122` PATENTED JULY 2, 1907. M. P. SCHOLL L M. F. BURKHART.

TRUCK.

1 APPLICATION FILED PBB.26,190G.

z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Tree/v5 ws WITNESS-ES PATBNTED JULY 2, 1907. HART.

M. I'. SCHOLL 6r, M. F. BURK TRUCK. APPLIOATION FILED Emme, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

/V/TNESSE a a UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

MILLAEEF. soEoLLAND MICE-AEL E. BURKHART, 0E WEST NEWTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

No. 859,122.-V

To all conservar v "Be it .known that we', MI'LLRD F. Sonora. land MIcHsEnFjBuRknaRncitizens of the United States particularly to trucks, as expressmens 7- i The primary etjeei ef thisinventan'-iefsieipievieien of novel means in connectionwith aitruc'k', 'whereby bed or platform of a sired position.

'- adapted for express companies where the trucks are em ployed iortransferring packages' `orarticles froma-'sta-- tion orreight olc'e to-trains.'

It is a well lmownfact that the floor lineoi caris oi a greater height than the bed or platformoiatruck, consequently necessitating thef'lifting of articles Vfrom' atruck to' a car. In some instances, where 'the'. -packagesor articles are large-and heavy`,considera'bl'e' labor vand time isnecessary to transfer the packages orarticles from a truck to a oar,and where agreat'inany packages orrticles are to be transferred to atrain in a-V short periodoi time, a train is often delayed bythe slow progress madej in transferring the packages'.

My investies aime ie ebvieieih'e ebeve'defeei byprovidinga truck, the bed or platform-oi which may be.l elevated to a plane horizontal with the floor cfa car,^or 'A slightly above the Hoor, wherebylarge'and heavy arti'- cles being transferred to-acar. can be draggedirom the truck t'o the interior of the carin a comparatively short time'and less labor than if it were necessary to lift the articles from a truckoftheordinary construction. .f

The numerous advantages ofmy improved truck will be apparent to those familiar Withfthe 'handling of trucks, and with the above and other objectsfin view,

the invention consists in thenovel construction, com' bination and arrangement of parts tov be .hereinafter more iullydescribedand claimed, and'reierringito'the drawing accompanying this application, like numerals of reference .'lesignilrte' corresponding partsthroughout the several views, in wl 1ich::-'

Figure 1 is a side elevationof Vmy improved truck, Fig. 2 isa longitudinal sectional view of the same, Fig. 3 is a plan of the truck, the bed or platform thereof being removed, Fig. 4 is across sectional View of the truck on the line-4 4 of Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a portion of the iront bolster or running gear. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the forward running gear on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view enlarged of the vertical cylinder of the forward can be elevated oany'def Patented July 2, 1907.

truck, Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional detail of thc ffifch-wheeieimeiure.

" Topnt my invention into practice, I construct my improved truck oi a running gear. consisting of a rear 'axle 1 and a iront axle 2, the ends oi said axles being provided withl ground wheels 3, 3 and 4, 4 respectively.

The rear arde supports va bolster 5having'a vertically disposed cylinder-'6 centrallythereof. The front axle 2-is provided 'with a twopart bolster 7 and 8, supported )within the' upperl bolster portion 7 is acylinder 10,

and extending downwardlyl into a cut-away portion 9 the lower bolstermeniber'B and bearingupon the axle 2 andfprovided iwitha stud 17 extending downwardiy through' .the axle 2;, end time performing the function of a king bolt or linchp'in on which the for- My-invention aims to provide a truck particularly wardaxle rotates.- 'Supported bythe lower part'8 of i' the .bolster and surrounding the cylinder 10 is the lower '-half. llgof a fifth-Wheel-which is further. supported by l'straps 1 2, 12 thatfextend under thea-Xie Zand around 4"the pin`17 and are arranged at righ-t Vangles to the lower peri s ef "the, bolster. The iewjerf 1 1 ei sie fifth wheel is recessed, as', at 14, andrevolubl'y mounted in Isaid recess is adepending'portion '1 6 o f the upper half 15 efjih'e fifth wheel, the upperhalf'sef the Enh wheel:

being supported by the upperpart7 oi the bolster;

'y Supported by the rear and 'front holsters is a rectan-` rectangular frame: is bracedby al pluralityv 'of' transverse. "v l here 20, .21, 22, and 23, the here 21 end 'zzieei'ng'e011- nected ltogether bya longitudinallyA disposedbar 2 4.

straps passing beneath 'the rear axle-1 oi thetruck;` Thel -r upper half 15 of -the fifth wheelfis'also'braced by straps 261which are connected to the forward end of the frame- 18 and'to the transversebar 23. f 1

- The transverse bars 2 0 to. 23 inclusive, are.provided.

with depending straps and 28, 28', the straps 27 *I su ppoting an angularly ldisposedfhorizontally''arranged 1 cylinder 29 Whilethe straps28, 28 support a similar cylinder'BO." Theouter ends of the cylinders 29'and 30 are connected together by a pipe 31 carrying aconyentional `form of valve or c o'ck 32. lIn the cylinders are mountedpiston heads 33, 33 having'piston rods 3 4 34 whicheiitend through the inner ends of- -the cylinders andare pivotallyconnected at their inner ends to a transverseoperating lever 35', which is pivoted' in a l bracket 36 carried lby the longitudinally disposed ball'v 5 The transverse barsA 22 and 23 are provided with depending straps .-37 37 supporting a reservoir cylinder 38, which is connected' to the cylinder 30V bya pipe 39 and to the cylinder-'.29 by a pipe 40.

TheA cylinder 30 isconnec'ted to the 'lower end of the cylinder 10 by a pipe 41, while the .cylinder 29 is conected to the cylinder 6 by a pipe 42. The upper end of the cylinder 10 is connected to the reservoir cylinder 38 by a pipe 43 having a cock 44. The pipe 43 communicates with the lower end of the cylinder 10 by a by-path 44/ formed within one of the walls of the cylinder, as shown in Fig. 7, so that the supply of oil under pressure is fed to the cylinder beneath the plunger therein, as hereafter explained. The cylinder 6 connects with the reservoir cylinder 38 by a pipe 45 having a cock 46. The various connecting pipes are suitably arranged beneath the frame 18,y and will be l suitably supported from the transverse bars 20 to 23 inclusive. V

Slidably mounted upon the corner posts 19 is a bed or platform 47 which has its bottom side provided with transverse beams 48, 48, said beams being connected together by truss rods 49 ,to support the central portion of the bed or platform 47 when the same is in an elevated position. The platform 47 is provided withl beams 48, 48', and the beams are .provided with depending pistons 50 and 51, said pistons fitting in the cylinders 6 and 10 respectively. The forward axle 2 of the truck carries a conventional form of handle 52 by which the truck may be pulled or steered when being moved.

In practice, I use a liquid or duid such as a heavy lubricating oil within the cylinders 29, 30, 6, 10 and in the reservoir cylinder 38, the oil being stored within the cylinders 29, and 30 and the reservoir 38, said reservoir 38 being of suflcient size to contain enough of the fluid to lill the cylinders 6 and 10. The normal positiori of the bed or platform 47 is resting upon the frame 18, and when it is desired to elevate the bed or platform 47, the operating rodl or lever 35 is manipulated by the attendants of the truck, upon each side thereof. By reciprocating the pistons 33-33 of the cylinders 29 and 30, ythe oil or duid contained within the reservoir cylinder 38 and the cylinders 29 and 30 will be forced into the cylinders 6 and 10, and will elevate the pistons50 and 51, together with the bed or platform 47 said bed or platform being guided inits upward movement by the corner posts 19, 1-9 of the frame 18. After the, bed or platform 47 has been elevated to the desired height, the fluid is retained within the cylinders 6 and 10 by check valves 53, 53 carried by the pipes 4l and 42 respectively. The fluid is prevented from escaping to the reservoir cylinder38 by the cocks 44 and 46 carried by the pipes 43 and 45 respectively, these cocks being closed while the pistons 50 and 51 are being elevated. When it is desired to lower the bed or platform 47 the cocks 44 and 46 are opened which permits of the fluid passing from the cylinders 6 and 10 into l the reservoir cylinder 38, it of course being understood that the cylinder 6 is provided with a by-path similar inders 6 and` liabove the pipes 43 and 45. `One ofV these openings is normally open and both of said openings are controlled by a reciprocating rod 55 slidably mounted in grooves 56 formed in the top surface of the transverse bars 20 to 23 inclusive. The rod 55 is recip-l rocated by a lever 57 pivoted in a depending bracket 58 carried by the bars 20 and 21, said lever being pivotally connected to the rod 55 as at 59.

When air is used for elevating the pistons 50 and 51 the cocks 44 and 46 are closed and air is pumped from the reservoir cylinder 38, through the cylinders 29 and 30 into the cylinders 6 and 10. l',Io permit ofthe bed orplatform 47 descending by gravity the air is perthe pistons 50 and 5l, passing through the openings 51,54 and as the air in the cylinders acts as a cushion for'the pistons 50 and ,5.1, and the lever 57 which operates the rod55, is reciprocated to close the opening in one of the cylinders before the piston carried by the other end vof the platform and operating in the other cylinder has'descended far enough to bind, a steady descent of the platform is assured, Y

In practice, I preferably operate my improved trucks by the use of fluid which is admitted into the cylinders 6 and l0; By the arrangement of the vvalves and check valves, it will be observed that the fluid is operation of the various pistons of my improved truck.

rnitted to escape from the' cylinders 6 and 10 around l While I have herein described the truck as being particularly adapted for express companies, it is obvious that the same principleembodied in the truck may be readily used in connection with a vehicle, such as transfer wagons and drays. i

I do not care to confine myself to the detail arrangement of the cylinders, and their appurtenant parts and it is obvious that such changes, as are permissible by the appended claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

-What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Iatent, isz-7 1. In a device of the class described, a truck device including a supporting frame, holsters, axles and ground wheels, and with vertical guide membersat the corners of the frame, cylinders spaced apart beneath said trame, and supported upon said axles, a platform lmovably disposed above said trame und arranged to be guided by said guide members, plungers operating in said cylinders and carrying said platform, a reservoir, two pump devices, conductor pipes respectively between said pump devices and cylinders, exhaust conductor pipes respectively between saidcylinders and reservoir, controlling valves in said exhaust conductor pipes, and means for simultaneously actuating said pump devices. v

2. In a device of the class described, a truck including i said cylinders in position relative to Ysaid axles and trame, I

a palttorm movably disposed above said. frame and arranged to be guided by said members, plungers 'operating in said cylinders and carryingsaid'platform, a reservoir, pump devices connected to said cylinders yand to said reservoir, exhaust pipes between said reservoir. and cylinders andlhavlng controlling valves therein.' l

8. In adevice o! the class described, a truck including s supporting frame, 'axles and ground Wheels, cylinders bearing respectively upon said axles, one` of said cylinders having a stud extending through one of said axles, a lower fifth-wheetmember surrounding the cylinder having -the stud, a'brace strap connected to said lower iitth-wheel member and 4extending beneath the adjacent axle and havingan aperture through which said stud extends, an upper member 'and connected to said frame, u platform plun- `gers operating in said cylinders and supporting said platform, a reservoir, pump devices connected vto said cylinders and reservoir, exhaust pipes respectively between said Cylinders and reservoir, and Cnntrolllng valves in said exhaust pipes. and means for simultaneously actuating saidpunip derives.

4. In a truck. the combination with holsters mounted upon wheels, a tfth wheel carried by one of sald holsters, vertically disposed cylinders carried by Suid holsters, a frame mounted upon said holsters, corner posts carried by said frame. a platform slidnbly mounted upon said corner posts. depending.; pistons carried by snid platform and extendingr into said cylinders, a reservoir carried by said frame and in communication with snid holster cylinders. pump cylinders carried by said frame and in communication with said reservoir and with said bolster cylinders, and means for simultaneously operating said pump cylinders to elevate the pistons of said holsteicylinders.

In testimony whereof we ntlix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

M1 LLARD F. SCHOLL. MUHAEL F. BURKITART.

Witnesses C. J. HURsT,

J; R. SCROLL. 

